Researchers from the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of the University of Barcelona (IN2UB) have presented the first computational study that mimics the natural selection of proteins in water under different environmental ...

The idea of proteins that can be designed on computers for specific functions has been a cutting-edge concept that has stubbornly remained "in the future." New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science may bring that ...

Research groups from the University of Groningen have revealed a novel mechanism of ribosome dimerization in the bacterium Lactococcus lactis using cryo-electron microscopy. As this dimerization renders ribosomes more resistant ...

Every year, millions of tons of bird feathers from slaughterhouses are wasted. In the future, we can instead perhaps make use of the protein in the feathers and eat them. Researchers in biotechnology at Lund University in ...

It has always been the Holy Grail of materials science to describe and control the material's structure-function relationship. Nanoparticles are an attractive class of components to be used in functional materials because ...

Don't let their appearance fool you: Thimble-sized, dappled in cheerful colors and squishy, poison frogs in fact harbor some of the most potent neurotoxins we know. With a new paper published in the journal Science, scientists ...

Converting fibrous plant waste, like corn stalks and wood shavings, into fermentable simple sugars for the production of biofuel is no simple process. Bacteria must break down tough leaves, stems and other cellulosic matter ...

Amino acid

In chemistry, an amino acid is a molecule containing both amine and carboxyl functional groups. These molecules are particularly important in biochemistry, where this term refers to alpha-amino acids with the general formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic substituent. In the alpha amino acids, the amino and carboxylate groups are attached to the same carbon atom, which is called the α–carbon. The various alpha amino acids differ in which side chain (R group) is attached to their alpha carbon. They can vary in size from just a hydrogen atom in glycine through a methyl group in alanine to a large heterocyclic group in tryptophan.

Amino acids are critical to life, and have a variety of roles in metabolism. One particularly important function is as the building blocks of proteins, which are linear chains of amino acids. Amino acids are also important in many other biological molecules, such as forming parts of coenzymes, as in S-adenosylmethionine, or as precursors for the biosynthesis of molecules such as heme. Due to this central role in biochemistry, amino acids are very important in nutrition.

Amino acids are commonly used in food technology and industry. For example, monosodium glutamate is a common flavor enhancer that gives foods the taste called umami. Beyond the amino acids that are found in all forms of life, amino acids are also used in industry. Applications include the production of biodegradable plastics, drugs and chiral catalysts.